What I Did Last Night...

Lately, Mr. Pancakes has been working extra hard

so it was nice last night to be able to veg out infront of the television

 and watch some brainless TV.  

 When you don't have cable...

you are limited to whatever the networks are offering in free full eipodes. 

 Therefore, our choice last night was America's Got Talent.

And then we discovered a new show: The Glass House on abc.com. 

 It's like Big Brother only the house is glass

and the audience interacts with the contestants by choosing their fate. 

It's brainless television at it's best!

Plus, it's always fun to see what happens when grown-ass people

are thrown into these types of situations.

By the end of four episodes, Mr. Pancakes knew the name of the contestants

and he never watches TV unless it's a sports event.

Since we don't have cable, we have been using

HDMI cable to connect the laptop to the TV and it works great. 

  We feel like we are watching TV without all the unneccessary commercials.

Thanks Sis for the tip about HDMI.

All we have to invest in now is Hulu or Netflix and

we should be good to go with more TV watching time. 

I think this is going to come in handy during late night feedings with Baby Pancakes.

Needless to say, last night was a wonderful night with my husband.

An impromptu session of reality TV...gotta love it!

Tonight i catch up on America's Got Talent...don't tell me who was eliminated!!

Question of the Day:

What did you watch on TV last night?

I'm Back on the Grid!!

Well at least i am plugged in!!

After a month of being without Internet and using the heck out of my 3G....

i have Internet and i couldn't be happier!

 Now i can do all the stuff i wanted to do on the blog 

including a new layout and some other stuff.

There is something special about having Internet!

I feel alive again.

I know i am being dramatic but i never knew how dependent i was

 on the Internet until i was without it!

We have decided NOT to get cable and i am alright with that.

I thought i would be devastated but i am not.

I have found out as long as we have Internet...

i can watch whatever i want without missing a show.

Most of the major networks provide full episodes of most shows including HGTV.

As much as i want to spend the rest of the day browsing the Internet...i am not.

Instead i am going to go hang out with the girls.

Have a little dinner and enjoy my ladies.

It's actually a belated Mother's Day dinner...i will make sure to take pictures!

Baby Pancakes just said hi...he has been moving up a storm today.

I think he is figuring out he can move certain body parts!!

Happy Saturday Friends!!!!

Going Without Cable...Not By Choice!!

Sometime last year, i initiated the No-TV Challenge...that was by choice...

my current no-tv challenge is NOT by choice.

Let me explain...

Since we moved, we have been having issues with our

cable/inernet provider and this has been frustrating.

The people that lived in our apartment before did not a

cable/internet connection so in order for us to get it,

the provider had to come out and initiate a connection.

There have been two appointments set and it's almost the end of the month

and NOTHING has been done as of yet.

No connection. 

No cable.

No internet.

THIS HAS BEEN FRUSTRATING BEYOND MEASURE.

We've been able to get away without internet by accessing the hotspot on my iphone.

Thank goodness!! But there has been no TV show watching for me.

I didn't realize i was a TV-holic until i didn't have access to TV shows.

I have watched all of Sex and the City DVDs all over again...

Mr. Pancakes is ready to have me committed.

And i am sure Baby Pancakes probably knows too much

about sex from listening to all the shows.

But I just need to have some noise in the house when i come home.

Soon there will be a baby and i won't need TV shows but in the meantime...

i need distraction.

Distractions like music doesn't do it. 

And reading hasn't been doing it lately.

It's been a month without watching any of my shows

and you know what i haven't gone completely bonkers.

I do miss HGTV, Suze Orman, Golden Girls

and just random television shows like Saturday nights

Mr. Pancakes and i would watch Boxing on HBO

BUT aside from missing these shows....

i am NOT dying to watch TV shows. 

I miss TV shows but i am not dying without them. 

Which leads me to think perhaps, maybe

i can live without cable for the rest of my life.

Maybe...i think....

This lead me to ask my fellow bloggers,

Have you gone without cable by choice

or NOT by choice and how have you dealt with it?

Bonding Over the TeeVee..

Happy Wednesday Friends!

Remember that time i put myself on the No-TV Challenge 

because i thought i was watching too much TV?!

It's true that most times TeeVee can be a major distraction 

HOWEVER it can also be a bonding experience for families.

I know whenever i go back home, we love watching shows like 

The Bachelor, 

American Idol, 

X-Factor, 

Dancing with the Stars 

and i cannot wait for The Voice to return.  

Therefore, there are many shows which brings families together.  

My question today is: 

What TeeVee (Television) shows bond you and the special people in your life?

To answer my own question, there aren't many shows Team Pancakes can watch together because Mr. Pancakes is not much of a TV viewer unless it's some sports related show like the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Boxing, UFC, you get my drift....but there are a few shows we can watch and enjoy together.

We LOVE and will LAUGH 

out LOUD together include mostly 80s reruns like:

Mr. Pancakes knows each episode verbatim!

We've probably seen each episode like three times BUT we both laugh out loud each time!
The ladies are still funny and relevant today.

And some financial shows like:

There is NOTHING like a Saturday night with Suze...denied, denied, denied!!

This is a Canadian show and was so glad when Mr. Pancakes liked her too!

And sensational news straight from the headlines:

The people on this show are so criminal and GREEDY!

I know, i know, the shows which we watch together are a bit electic 

however they really do bring us together and these are the moments

 when TV can be a definite bonding experience!

Question of the Day:

What about you and yours...

What TeeVee (Television) shows bring you and yours together?

The No-TV Challenge: Finito, Fin, Finish, Complete, Done!

The No-TV Challenge is officially over, 

finito, fin, complete, finished, done--you get the point!   

And just in time for Project Runaway! 

It was a great show today by the way. 

And Mr. Pancakes was able to catch the Ravens and Redskins game too.

What i did:

1. Finished reading The Help (will write on this later)

2. Made couscous for dinner

3. Went on a girl's weekend to Virginia (still waiting on pictures)

4. Went to a baseball game with the hubby (celebrated our 120 days of marriage)

5. Survived an Earthquake

6. Discovered a few exciting blogs (i love thealternativebride.blogspot.com: awesome blog)

7. Realized i didn't need television to enjoy my evening

8. Got some extra paperwork done for work

9. Worked out twice a few days out of the week

10. Went to bed at 10pm on monday (that never happens)

11. Completed a few fun posts for TC30s

12. Had my most commented blog entry ever (it was too funny)

13. Learned a little bit about reviews and giveaways on blogger (my first review is coming up next week)

14. Played phone tag with my sister because i was all over the place

15. I am sure i did a lot of other fun fun things i cannot remember now

16. When i turned the TV today, i realized the TV makes a lot of noise!

Am i more self-disciplined because of the No-TV Challenge?

Probably a little more but i am still working on my self-disciplined skills.

Overall, would i do the No-TV Challenge again? 

Definitely YES!

I think moving forward, i will turn the TV on a little less and enjoy other activities a lot more.  

Mr. Pancakes suggested we cancel the cable but i am definitely NOT ready for that.  

But i might try the No-Blog Challenge soon...eek! that might be a little more challenging!

The No-TV Challenge: The Wolfpack Weekend!

Day 4: Came home and cooked the heck out of my kitchen

Days 5 & 6:  Virginia Beach--since there is no-tv all weekend, the Wolfpack is going on a mini vacay!

My girlfriends and i call ourselves the Wolfpack. The Wolfpack came about as a result of watching and loving the Hangover movie. We are not crazy as those boys but a group to be reckoned with.  Sometimes we refer to ourselves as the Wolfpack plus baby because of my godson that is usually in our midst.

The Wolfpack has an annual summer trip every year to the beach.  Last year, we did Rehoboth Beach and this year we are doing Virginia Beach. 

I believe i have all my essentials for a great holiday! 

Wolfpack

The location

The Bathing Suit

The Beach Towel

The Sunscreen

Sunglasses

Dress One

Dress 2

The Sandal

The Skirt

The Bag

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Here's to No-TV but lots of beach, sun, sand and fun!

The No-TV Challenge: Days 1-3

August 16, 2011:

 In the morning, i listened to gospel music

Gave my hair a relaxing shampoo

Shaved my legs

Saw a father walking his son on the baby leash 

(hence the post..thanks for all the comments ladies!)

Probably bothered Mr. Pancakes a little too much with my bantering

August 17, 2011:

Slept in

Worked out in the morning

Worked out in the evening (Tae-Bo anyway)

Worked overtime (is this what happens when you have time on your hands)

Discovered some new blogs!

August 18, 2011

Worked out with Mr. Pancakes (we haven't done that for a while)

Saw the bff

Worked overtime (not by choice)

Went to CVS to print some pictures

Made bbq for dinner

Worked on TC30s

I wish i was reading more but i think that's because i've been coming home late from work.

But Yup, still no tv and I AM DOING JUST FINE!

The No-TV Challenge

Starting August 16th, 2011, I have decided to give up television for a complete week. 

7 full days. 

168 hours. 

No television!  

I have been meaning to do this for a while because truth be told, i watch TV, alot.  

As soon as i come home, i turn the TV on.  I watch TV when i am blogging, stretching from a workout, eating, texting and sometimes when i am sleeping.  Well the TV has to be on when i am sleeping (if Mr. Pancakes is not home that is).  I have become a little attached to the TV.

Mr. Pancakes on the other hand could care less about TV unless there is a football or another sporting event on.  If not, the TV is turned off.  Sometimes, i come home, turn the TV on and it's on the same channel from when i last watched TV.  I think God brought Mr. Pancakes into my life to teach me some self-discipline.

Therefore I have decided be self-disciplined and challenge myself to No-TV!

Oh the horror!

As soon as i thought about this challenge, i said to myself, 

"self, i am sure there are plenty of things you can do aside from watching television!"  Including:

 house cleaning,

go to a baseball game,

working out in the evening, 

expanding on our readership at TC30s

trying new hair styles,

finish reading the books that are due back at the library next week, 

catch up with friends from Canada, 

skype with my sister, 

trying new recipes from Fitness Food and Fait

write in my journal,

discover new blogs, 

helping Mr. Pancakes with the family business

studying for my clinical exam in October

learn about doing a giveaway, 

have a random date night at our favourite restaurant

spend quality evening time with Mr. Pancakes with the TV turned off.  

Of course, i was ready to start the No-TV challenge next week but of course my self-disciplined husband says to me, "why put off what you can today tomorrow?"  I looked at him and thought about all the new shows i could be missing and took him up on the challenge to start on August 16 and finish on August 23rd.

What's the point of this challenge anyway?

 Aside from showing myself and my husband i can be self-disciplined, 

i believe i am a little addicted to the TV and spending sometime away from it will give me a better appreciation for all the other lovely things i enjoy doing, 

like reading, working out, journaling and spending time the Pancakes.  

I am hopeful if i can be disciplined with the No-TV challenge, i can be disciplined in other areas of my life.  Here's to being optimistic without television for a week and discovering something new and awesome in the next week.  

I just hope i don't accidentally turn it on!

Have you given up something you really really really liked for an extended amount of time?